LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS CLASSIC TELEVISION INSIGHTS WITH TOP AWARD

LOS ANGELES_ A study of classic television and how it has shaped society is the winner of the 2023 Los Angeles Book Festival, which honors the best of the world publishing community.

Author Herbie J. Pilato’s Retro Active Television (Headline Books) explores the world of classic television, showing us what the programmers were thinking in the creative and programming process. Written by an author whose knowledge of popular culture is among the world’s finest, the book offers fresh insight into some of television’s favorites. For fans of the medium, it’s a journey that enlightens and entertains.

Other winners in the competition:

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: A Someday Courtesan - Sephe Haven

RUNNERS-UP:

• Narrow Escapes - Louise Nayer
• The Warmth of Ashes - N. Daniel
• Dream in a Suitcase - Dominica Radulescu
• Strange Vibrations - Craig Reem

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• My Whorizontal Life: An Escort’s Tale - Sephe Haven
• Century’s Witness: May Llewellyn McNeil
• Against the Wall - Jenn Budd
• In the Time of Madmen - Mark A. Prelas
• The Train Leaving Salisbury - Kenny Rukovo
• “Are You A N***** or a Doctor?” A Memoir - Otto E. Stallworth Jr. MD
• Therapy Isn’t Just For White People - Kiara Imani
• The University Drop-in - Calestous Juma
• Brainwashed - Kashonia Carnegie PhD
• How I Think I Should Be is B***S*** - Eileen Marder-Mirman
• Carole A. Feuerman, My Hyperrealist Life and Legacy - Carole A. Feuerman
• Becoming Mother Martha - Martha Hoy
• Rooted Heir - Christina Somera
• Spirit of a Hummingbird - Felicia Thai Heath
• Syrup Sandwiches - Anthony Owens
• Empty Cupboards - Stacey Powells
• Madame PhD: Growing Up Black in DC.. - Gwynette Ford Lacy, PhD, MBA
• VIctim or the Crime - Paul Sanders
• Chronic Pain, My Journey - Don Hunter
• Salvation is a Glazed Doughnut - Kathrin A. Swanson-Valerio
• Dancing with Unity - Jan Ford
• Midpoint: A Memoir - Patricia Angeles
• Artists and Vagabonds - Lorena L. Sikorski
• Along Came Hell, or So I Thought - Lois Young
• Face-Lift - Holly Curby
• Black Recovery - Anneca Peoples
• Journey of Faith with Jesus, Mary and the Saints - Lee Agnero Powell

POETRY

WINNER: The Beautiful Before - Heather E. Carnaghan

RUNNERS-UP:

• Let it Bleed - Nicole Nesca
• Negro Asylum for the Lunatic Insane - Len Lawson
• A Path of Roses and Thorns - Jesus Cruz

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• A Shaft of Light - Ann Huang
• Freedom - Woodrow Bailey
• Violet - Sabrina Simon
• Red Paper Parasols - Kath Abela Wilson, et. al
• We Find Our Way - Reyna Biddy
• Desert Angels - Lyman A. Ditson
• Little Black Book Poetry - Alyana Sha’niel
• General Release from the Beginning of the World - Donna Spruitt-Metz
• The Shift: Poetry for a New Perspective - Melody Godfred
• My Sweet Aroma - Timothy Green
• Unfortunate Short Stories - Kyreonna Dais
• From The Spirit Within - Maria Vasilopoulos
• Various Poetic Waves of the Mind - Reshenda L. Younger
• Breathe in the Sky - Hasna Muhammad

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Sky is My Home - Pamela Bauer Mueller

RUNNERS-UP:

• Hierarchy of Blood - Jennifer Haskin
• The End - John Barnes
•  Unbossed: How Black Girls Are Leading the Way - Khristi Lauren Adams

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Queen of Shadows - Erin Dulin/Britt Cooper
• The Halloween Warrior - Esteban Vazquez
• Resonate - Erin Wilkerson

WILD CARD:

WINNER: Tales of the Profitable Trader - James Harris

RUNNERS-UP:

• Ride the Blue - James D. Wilson
• The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster
• The Sky is My Home - Pamela Bauer Mueller
• Limerick Comics - Robert Hoyman

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Dark Obsessions - Delphine McClelland
• Giant Banana Over Texas - Mark Nutter
• Schrodinger’s Gold - Emory Moon
• River of Ashes - Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor
• I Want To Play College Golf - Angelina & Cameron Huang
• Trapped - Reese
• The Kitten - Laurie Jameson
• Jewels of the Earth: Sexuality Empowerment - Rose Mari Grigsby
• Love, I Am - Dr. Catherine Athans
• The Boy from Mexico - Edward A. Dennis
• Victim or the Crime - Paul Sanders
• The Waystation - Laurie Jameson
• Salty Flames - Tamar Tremaine
• Her Alibi - Mary Schmidt
• Life of Akbar: Part One - Akhtar Allahabadi
• Fool, Anticipation - Robert Polakoski
• Human Behavior, A Primer - Anthony C. Hollander

GENERAL NON-FICTION:

WINNER: Graceful Exits - Geri Reid Suster

RUNNERS-UP:

• Year of the Smuggler - Jim Finucan
• The Girl in Your Wallet - Teresa Nickell
• My Whorizontal Life: An Escort’s Tale - Sephe Haven
• We The Scientists - Amy Dockser Marcus
• Under The Naga Tail - James Taing

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• I Don’t Like Mondays - N. Leigh Hunt
• Judicial Mayhem: How Federal Judges… - David M. Dorsen
• Life, I Swear - Chloe Louvouezo
• The Empowerment Solution - Friedemann Schaub
• How to Have a Healthy Relationship in an Unhealthy World - Laura Streyffeler, PhD, LMHC
• It’s Not About Love - Jamie Murray
• The World is Your Studio - Deborah McMahon Osterholtz
• The Financial Mindset Fix - Joyce Marter
• Madame Ph.D: Growing Up Black in DC… - Gwynette Ford Lacy, Ph.D, MBA
• The Stress Book: Forty-Plus Ways… - D. Terrence Foster, MD
• The Train Leaving Salisbury - Kenny Rukovo
• Saffron, Rose Water and Blood - Soudabeh Etessami
• Moments in Time: - Tom Locke
• Telling His Story - Janis Pardue Hill
• The Lost Art of Wisdom in the Balance of Sacrifice - N. Daniel
• Coach Run Win - Ken Sayles
• Fighting for Justice - Paulette J. Buchanan
• Judicial Mayhem - David M. Dorsen
• The Lost Art of Wisdom in the Balance of Sacrifice - N. Daniel
• The Human Paradox - Gilbert E. Mulley
• The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster
• Brainwashed - Kashonia Carnegie PhD
• The Power of Wonder - Monica C. Parker
• Boil the Frog - Dennis McVicker
• Surrender - Nicola Irvine
• Murder at Fourth and Elm - Dallas Clark
• Not Another Dead End Trail - Michael Tavella
• A Nation Imprisoned in Myths - Ghazanfar Hashmi
• My Best Friend Me - Leopole a. McLaughlin
• World Affiliations, Book 1 - Kyreonna Dais

SEQUELS:

WINNER: Moonlight Duology - Yurie Kiri

COOKBOOKS:

WINNER: Turkey Savvy - Jessica Williams

RUNNER-UP: Louisiana vs. Texas The Lighter Side - Blyth Steele and Natalie Norman


BUSINESS:

WINNER: The Review Cycle - Matt R. Vance

RUNNER-UP: Grow: The Essential Guide to Getting Promoted - Randy Ornstein & Hayley Ornstein

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• How Music Grows Brands - Joe Belliotti & Rebecca Jolly
• A Leader’s Guide to Consultant Cliches - Jeff Colvin

COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: Retro Active Television - Herbie J. Pilato

RUNNER-UP: ESPN: One Giant Leap for Fankind - Bill Rasmussen with Donald T. Phillips

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Long and the Short of It - RJ Stastny

SCIENCE FICTION

WINNER: Vertical City - Tristan Scott

RUNNERS-UP:

• The Intrepid: Dawn of the Interstellar Age - Arnie Benn
• The Harpsichordist - Celeste Plowden
• Hierarchy of Blood - Jennifer Haskin
• Reinception - Sarena Straus

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Proud Pada - S.G. Blaise
• The Canary and the Coal Mine - Justin Dicken
• The Paranoian - Ray Sproule  
• Mountains of the Gods - D.T. Read
• Einstein in the Attic - Dana Dargos and Said Al Bizri
• Mission of the Stones Winds of Time - A Novel - B.G. Simpson
• My Page - Jessica Hare
• Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc. - Ash Bishop
• The Winged Serpent of Time - Peter Ball
• The Human Megmador - Edmantha Hall
• Stilled: The Story of Inklebrawt Winklehank - Brian Estvander

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: I Would Love You Even If You Were A Coconut - Bucleigh Newton Kernodle

RUNNERS-UP:

• Big Rig Family Truckster Adventures in Camper Truckin’ - Jennifer Mazzetta
• Introducing Sai the Peacock - Estan Frizzell
• Zen and Now - Dreama Denver
• Tavey’s First Hunt - Daniel Boyd

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Miracle Mello Sahei Amani-Ghoreyshi
• The Adventures of Sweet Pea: The Stolen Toy - Joyce Labelle McNair
• Sadie Sasquatch Goes to School - C. James Sweeney
• Rose’s Wonderful World of Animals - Cynthia C. Dobbins
• Marky the Magnificent Fairy - Cynthia Kern O’Brien
• Bailey Speaks! - Mary Calvert
• To Show You That I Love You - Kerry Spark
• Dead Alley - S.A. Larsen
• Wolf - Monique A. Hanna
• Mr. Alex the Hamster Who Wanted to be Free - Dr. Soudabeh Etessami
• Be Mindful of Monsters - Lauren Stockly
• Sunshine Cake - September Scott
• Good Luck is my Guardian Angel - Erik Perezbrain
• The Sunshine Rock: A Story About Empathy - Tahiya Cooper
• Bullying: I May Bend But I Won’t Break - Barbara J. Patterson
• I Thought I Thought - Ryan Wagman
• The Lucky Baby: A Scottish New Year's Story. - Theresa Danna
• Buddy and Bailey’s Alaskan Adventure - Micai Reigo Nethercott
• The Wonderful Friendship - David Swindell
• Little Angel’s Journey - Dzvinka Hayda
• Magoo and his Magic Poo - H.D. Ronay
• Stan and Allen: A Book About Gender - Huxley Ren Bunn
• Fancy Pants Paige - Dale A. Jordan
• Super Gay - Jessi Hersey
• Odette’s Alphabet - Sandrine Marlier
• The Fairies Meet The Lions - MG
• Humble the New Superheroine - Rachel Akingboye
• Gnome Valentine Who Is My Valentine Today? - Parker Bastian
• Matthew and the Magical Star - Kurt D. Miller
• Fudgesicle - Tinee Furbert

GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Outer Sunset - Mark Ernest Pothier

RUNNERS-UP:

• The Baby-Eater - Chad Robert Morgan
• That Darn Cat - Janos Toldy
• Sacrificial Child - Edmantha Hall
• The Last Professional - Ed Davis

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Destiny - Edmantha Hall
• Bobby Truax - Denise Cassino
• The Reckoning of Rance - Roger Browning
• Dog on Fire - Terese Svoboda
• Enduv Road - Gwen Banta
• Pericles and Aspasia - Yvonne Korshak
• Macleish Sq. - Dennis Must
• Syrie - Dena Smallwood
• Last of the Knowers - Roger Browning
• Secrets of the Totenkopf Rings - Barb Goodwin
• Puddle - Myrna Ivette Lugo Ramirez
• The Middle Daughter - Chika Unigwe
• Both Ends - Mark Moorstein
• Transition Keeper: Monologue of the New Babylon - Ali Blank
• Finding the Key - Deborah Kelly
• The Collector’s Protege - Glenn Rehder
• Cottonmouth - Eric A. Yancy, M.D.
• Russian Assault - John Ruane
• Everything Here Belongs to You - Saborna Roychowdhury
• Nad of Nadide - Wagih Abu-Rish
• Justice for Love - Alea Adorea
• The Home for Wayward Girls - Marcia Bradley
• About A Girl - Tony Nesca
• Hand Me Downs - Michele E. Carter
• Torch - A Novel - D. Griffith White
• Because of Rachel - Alan Bryce Grossman
• The Hero Rule - Brandon Hughes